China & Zhang Yimou

China & Zhang Yimou

China  and Film
1)China abolished commercial filmmaking between 1949 and the beginning of the Cultural Revolution
   (1966-1976).
2) The country nationalized and subsidized the film industry to communicate the ideals of the Revolution.
3) Many filmmakers during this time left China, however, by 1978, they were back at work free from
   government opposition.
4)One important group of Chinese filmmakers is known as the “Fifth Generation” who appeared in
   1984.
5)One of the members of the “Fifth Generation” is Chen Kaige, who is probably best known in the U.S.
   for Farewell My Concubine (1993).
6)The film was an international hit but was banned in China for its portrayal of LGBTQ characters for
    two months. 

Zhang Yimou
1) Zhang Yimou is perhaps the most well known of the Fifth Generation filmmakers.
2) Although he is probably better known in the U.S. today for Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers
    (2004), 

Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
1)Was among his earliest international hits.
2)The film takes place in the 1920s and is about a woman Songlian (Gong Li) who is one of several
   wives of one man.
3)The film shows not only the oppression of women by polygamy, but also by one another. 

Film Clip:

In the following scene from Raise the Red Lantern, a new concubine enters the "marriage" and Songlian is shown wandering alone while suffering from metal illness.

Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991):

Wedding scene of 5th mistress - she's young. The fourth mistress is referred to as a woman who went mad. we see her wondering around with messy hair. Walking in the streets - beautiful lanterns everywhere

Trailer of film Click Here

Good synopsis of the film Click Here

Current Day China:
1)A group of filmmakers known as the Sixth Generation have emerged since the mid-1990s. 2)They shoot mostly on 16mm or video, and often use mini-DV cameras.
3)They sometimes conceal their cameras while filming on the streets.
4) The films of the Sixth Generation initially weren’t exhibited in traditional theaters.
5)Jia Zhangke is among the most notable Sixth Generation directors (The World, Still Life).